Time to Slow Down

I don't know how it is possible.  I should have listened to the countless blogs and stories from friends.  I should have learned from my own experience.  But it is true.  They grow up so fast.  And it seems that the second time around is faster than the first.  And how that is possible, the second grows up faster than the first...well that is some sort of twist of the fourth dimension that is totally unexplainable.

So Lydia is already 5 months old.  And her first year of life is almost half over.  My time off from work is coming to an end, and I find myself just wondering how this happened.  How did this time pass so quickly? 

I have heard from many people "enjoy every stage".  And with Ella I feel I did that.  But with Lydia, I find myself thinking about it a lot.  And I have also found there is a lot I am going to miss, but there are also things I won't. 

Won't Miss:waking up (multiple times) in the middle of the night for feedings
Will Miss: The way she looks at me when I pick her up at 2AM after she realizes that no matter what time it is, I will be there for her.  Holding her little hands while she eats. 

Won't Miss:  the massive amount of laundry to do every weekend
Will Miss:  Holding her hands and feet multiple times a day while changing her from one cute outfit to another

Won't Miss: the time, energy, scabs, soreness of breastfeeding
Will Miss: knowing that what I am doing is the best thing for her and keeping her healthy and strong

Won't Miss: Potty training
Will Miss: How proud I felt after the first week of "no accidents".  Seeing her face when Ella got her first lollipop for this very reason.

Won't Miss: changing diapers
Will Miss: ???  I'm not sure there is anything I'll miss about diapers.

Won't Miss: sitting in traffic.
Will Miss: going to the zoo, fairyland, the City and seeing their faces each time, like it's the first time we've been there.

Whether I'll miss it or not, I'm enjoying every second of every day.  I just wish time would slow a little...

But Why?

Laughter is like medicine.  No matter your mood, or what you are doing, if you start to laugh you automatically start to feel better.  I'm finding that is my favorite part of spending time with the girls.  They make me laugh, constantly, every day.  And you never know when it's coming...

Ella:  Mommy, I want milk...NOW.
Me:   Yes, ma'am
Ella:  I'm not a man, I'm a girl!

Me:   Here are some cheerios
Ella:  Cherrios?...You're kidding me.  (It was a good thing, she ate them up).

Ella:  Mommy, sit on your bottom, your making me nervous.  (I think I may have said this a few times to her before...)

Playing "Hide & Seek", upon finding Ella "hiding" in the middle of the living room floor:
Ella:  Who are you and how did you find me?  (We have been watching a lot of Tangled recently).

But alas, I fear we are also entering "why" territory.  Which is funny in it's own way...you never know when it is going to end...


Me:   Ella, it's time to turn off the TV.
Ella:  But Why?
Me:   Because it's time to eat dinner.
Ella:  But Why?
Me:   Because we need dinner to grow up strong and healthy.
Ella:  But Why?
Me:   Because we want to do fun things like paint, and ride our bikes.
Ella:  But Why?
Me:   Because riding our bikes is fun.
Ella:  Oh.

And even better then Elanor's hilarious new words is the laughter that comes from Lydia whenever she sees her sister trying to push her in the swing, bounce her in the chair, or hand her toys on the floor mat.  Lydia gets the BIGGEST smile ever and starts giggling...the best and most adorable giggle I have ever heard.

And in between all the smiles we have been having a lot of fun...

hanging out at home

playing at the park

trying to avoid water at the water park

shopping

racing with our friend Molly

learning to roll over

eating broccoli (yummy!)

getting our first hair cut

and painting

Sparkling Good Times

We are really starting this summer off with a bang.  We have been up to so much that I feel we have hardly been home...it's nice to be out of the house and enjoying what our beautiful town has to offer.

We started off with a trip to a baseball game (a Father's Day gift to Dan from Ella and Liddy).  We went to the San Rafael Pacifics game on one of the hottest days of the summer at the time (we soon found out that 95 really isn't that hot!).  Liddy figured out how to the handle the situation quite well...just fall asleep.  The rest of us were pretty miserable ...  and when the Pacifics were up 8 to 1 after the end of the 5th inning, we called it a night.  It was a blast though and Elanor loved to see Sir Francis the Drake (the Pacifics mascot) running around.  She actually went and gave him a hug which is unusual for our shy little girl.  

The next day we spent in downtown San Anselmo at the Art and Wine festival.  After this year, I'd have to say it is now a tradition for us to walk around and end with a train ride.  Ella seemed to enjoy it a lot more this year then last.

And we visited our new park downtown which was just unveiled about a week ago.  The land and construction of the park was donated by George Lucas (he lives in town with us).  Imagination Park has some grass, benches and a fountain with Yoda and Indiana Jones.  Dan's stoked.

And then there was 4th of July weekend, and we made sure to pack it full of fun.  We started out with 110 degree heat in Sacramento.  Sound fun yet?  Well, after running through the sprinklers for a while and spending most of the day inside with the AC on, we ventured out for some early fireworks.  Elanor held her first sparkler.  Amazing.  We then lit the fireworks.  Ella said her favorites were the snakes...

The next morning we went to the Nimbus Fish Hatchery.  I wish we would have ventured up here sooner, it was so much fun.  We fed both Trout and Salmon but all liked the trout the best, mainly because they were larger and easier to see.   Although, really, we basically just had a blast watching the fish fight over the food.  We'll be back later this year when they are climbing the ladder.

And then later that day was the County Fair.  We rode the airplanes about 5 times in a row, but we had to venture over to see the pig races and baby chicks...and we were really excited when our pig, Britney Spareribs, won the race!

I hope the rest of the summer is as fun and eventful as it has started off.  I don't know if Ella will remember a lot of this as she grows up, but I know I will.  And they will be great memories.

Beautiful Lake Tahoe

So I know what you are thinking...ANOTHER trip?  And what I'm thinking is...can we go AGAIN?

Even though we just spent a long weekend in Jenner, we decided we needed to get away and spent 5 days in Tahoe City.  It was absolutely gorgeous.  I mean, the lake, the house we rented, the weather, it was all gorgeous.

We rented a house just north of Tahoe City.  The house had access to a private beach, which we took full advantage of.  We were there in the middle of the week so we pretty much had the beach to ourselves.  Rare for us who usually go to the coast to enjoy some beach time which is normally packed full of people, regardless of the day of the week.

(That's Lydia in the baby carrier)

Ella had received a kite as a present the week prior to our vacation, and boy did she have fun flying it on the beach.  It only took one time of her letting go with it in the air to figure out not to do that.  Luckily it hadn't gotten too high yet and I was able to chase it down the beach.  She had a blast and was flying it all by herself in no time.

We invited my parents up to enjoy the house with us and spend some time with the girls, which the girls LOVED.  And Dan and I managed to get another bike ride in.  I was pretty scared when we left that i wasn't going to make it far because of the altitude, but we made it all the way to Squaw and back, 18 miles round trip.  Not too bad, I say!

The house was perfect for us, it was HUGE.  It had four bedrooms, three bathrooms, an amazing kitchen with TWO dishwashers (who knew what a luxury that is??), a play area filled with toys, books and puzzles in the loft, and a landscaped backyard.  What more could we ask?  Oh yeah, I know, WHEN CAN WE COME BACK?

Summer Fun

Summer has officially started in the Blomquist household!  We have been busy visiting with friends, swimming, going to festivals and hanging around the house...

Last weekend, my college friends Nikki and Michelle came up with Michelle's daughter Corinne (20 months) for a visit.  Elanor had a blast with Corinne showing her all her toys.  Corinne particularly liked the princess tea set and play kitchen.  I think being a princess is just about what every little girl likes to pretend to be.  In between toys, we tried to have the girls pose for a photo. With two toddlers, that's almost impossible...but i think we got a good one.

Nikki and Michelle then left to visit some other friends in the area, but on Monday, we met up with them again and went to Danville to see another college friend, Giana, and her two daughters Adelina (20 months) and Maven (5 weeks).  When we thought getting two kids to pose for a picture was difficult we had no idea what was in store for us when we would try five kids.  Needless to say, that didn't happen, but we did get a nice shot of the three big girls...Ella, Corinne and Adelina.

It was a scorching 95 degrees here yesterday, and so we set up the pool for Elanor for the second time this year.  She had a blast playing putting every single toy she has in the pool with her.  We even put her slide into the pool and what a blast that was.  It's so funny to see her say, "I'm gonna do it", "no, I'm  getting down", "i'm gonna do it", etc.  This normally went on about 4 or 5 times until she actually did go down the slide...She was excited each time she did it, but then got nervous for the next time...so cute!

We tried sticking Lydia's feet into the pool...she was not a fan.  But she really liked watching her big sister from her Daddy's lap...

And we took Elanor to her first parade at the Fairfax Festival.  OK, so Fairfax is an interesting town, we love it, but it is definately quirky.  They have this made up "holiday" that they celebrate every year with the Fairfax festival.  Actually, I don't know if they consider it a holiday, but everyone walks around for 2 days saying "happy festival".  That makes me think it's a made up holiday...I mean, the only ever times you do that is when you say "Happy Easter", or "Merry Christmas"...

Anyways, back to Elanor, she loved the parade!  She got so excited to see each float.  We also went to see a children's singer who was performing at the festival, Tim Cain.  OH MY GOSH.  Who cries from watching their daughter dance, sing and have so much fun...well...apparently I do!  I have never seen Elanor interact with other children (stranger children) like she did at this performance.  She was dancing and singing on stage without us up there!  She was running around with the other kids!  It was amazing...

Writing this makes me realize how busy we have been lately.  Ella got her first big girl bed last week!!  In preparation for the new bed, she got to pick out her own new big girl sheets and bedspread...guess what she picked out...no surprises there.  And yes, they are actually bigger than she is.

Since Ella got a new bed, Lydia got the crib set up for when we are ready for her to leave the bassinet.  Although she is still sleeping in the bassinet, she did manage to take her first nap in the crib.  Doesn't she look so peaceful.

And the most difficult part of the last week has been me going back to work.  OK, so I'm not actually back to work full time, but I am working 1 day a week to help out now.  Actually, I look forward to the interactions and conversations with adults, even if it is about work, but it is so hard to leave the girls in the morning.  This is a picture of us at daycare on Lydia's first day.  Elanor really liked having her sister there, Lydia slept most of the time, so I guess I shouldn't be too sad.  But man, no matter how well you know the people (we love you Jodi & Claire), its hard to leave the girls.

And dropping Lydia off for the first time had me in a nostalgic mood, so i dressed Lydia up in the same outfit as an old picture of Elanor.  Can you tell which is Lydia (12 weeks) and which is Elanor (16 weeks)?